Cloth holder



Allg- 28, 1934- w. J. SUMMERBELL 1,971,589

` CLQTH 'HOLDER Filed Sept. 27. 1935 ZNVLNTUL WQZEUMMEJQBELL Patented Aug. 28, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in cloth holders or devices designed to receive and support such articles as dish towels, wash cloths, hot plate holders, and the like.

An object of the invention is to provide a cloth holder of neat, simple, and durable construction which can be easily mounted on any suitable support and which may have a cloth, such as a dish towel or the like, easily and quickly applied thereto so as to be rmly held thereby.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cloth holder so designed as to be self-gripping upon the cloth which is supported thereby.

With the foregoing and other objects in view,

AlA-I gli? which will be made manifest in the following detailed description, and specifically pointed out in the appended claims, reference is had to the acoompanying drawing for an illustrative embodiment of the invention, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of the improved cloth holder illustrating a cloth being supported thereby.

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the cloth holder.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the same.

Fig. 4 is a view in front elevation of the cloth holder.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the blank from which the improved cloth holder may be formed.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, wherein similar reference characters designate similar parts throughout, the improved cloth holder is preferably formed of a single piece of sheet metal bent to provide a back and two forwardly extending arms 11 and 12. The forwardly extending arms are bent on fold lines 13 and 14 which converge upwardly so as to meet or substantially meet at the top of the back 10, as indicated at 15. These forwardly extending arms thus have the planes of their bodies downwardly divergent. The top edges of the arms are substantially in contact, being arranged very close together, if not in normal contact. The forwardly extending arms are of equal length and at their forward ends the edges are bent outwardly, forming entrance lips 16 and 17. The top edges are shaped as shown in Fig. 2 so as to be upwardly and forwardly curved or inclined.

The back 10 has one or more apertures 18 formed therein for the reception of attaching screws 19 or the equivalent serving to mount the back against a wall or equivalent support.

The operation and advantages of the improved cloth holder are as follows: The cloth C, which may be a dish towel, wash cloth, or the like, may

be stretched vertically or held in a taut vertical condition and while in this condition it is forced rearwardly between the entrance lips 16 and 17. It spreads the arm sufliciently to allow the cloth to enter between the arms and the top 6.0` edges thereof. On release the arms being resilient will grip on the cloth.

It will be noted that as the arms are bent about upwardly converging fold lines 13 and 14 any tendency of the arms to flex will cause them to flex about these fold lines as axes. Consequently, the weight of the cloth is effective to tend to flex either or both of the arms downwardly about lines 13 or 14, as the case may be. This direction of flexing tends to swing the arms toward each (0 other so that the cloth holder is, in effect, selfgripping. The greater the weight of the cloth the greater the tendency will be for the arms to be swung toward each other to grip upon it. When it is desired to remove the cloth it is merely drawn upwardly between the arms. The upward N curvature of the top edges tends to prevent accidental displacement or removal.

It will be appreciated that the improved cloth holder is of very simple and durable construction and may be made of a single stamping, enabling these devices to be easily, quickly, and cheaply manufactured.

Various changes may be made in lthe details of construction without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as dened by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A holder of the class described comprising a pair of forwardly extending arms positioned adjacent each other, means having fold lines for mounting the arms upon a support, at least one of the arms extending forwardly from a fold line which is downwardly inclined away from the other arm. .95

2. A holder of the class described comprising a pair of forwardly extending arms positioned adjacent each other, means having fold lines for mounting the arms upon a support, at least one of the arms extending forwardly from a fold line `100 which is downwardly inclined away from the other arm, both of the arms extending forwardly from fold lines which diverge downwardly.

3. A holder of the class described comprising a section of sheet metal bent to provide an attaching portion and two forwardly extending arms, the arms being bent forwardly upon fold lines which are downwardly divergent.

4. A holder of the class described comprising a section of sheet metal bent to provide an at- .110

taching portion and two forwardly extending arms, the arms being bent forwardly upon fold lines which are downwardly divergent, the top edges of the arms being disposed adjacent each other.

5. A holder of the class described comprising la section of sheet metal bent to provide an attaching portion and two forwardly extending arms, the arms being bent forwardly upon fold lines which are downwardly divergent, the top edges of the arms being disposed adjacent each other and inclining upwardly and forwardly.

6. A holder of the class described comprising a pair of resilient sheet metal arms, the planes of the bodies of the arms converging upwardly and the top edges of the arms being disposed adjacent each other, and means for attaching said arms to a support.

7. A holder of the class described comprising -a pair of resilient sheet metal arms, the planes of the bodies of the arms converging upwardly and the top edges of the arms being disposed `adjacent each other, and means for attaching said arms to a support, said arms tending to be flexed about lines at their rear ends which are upwardly convergent so that weights of cloths supported on the arms tend to flex them toward each other.

WILLIAM J. SUMMERBELL. 

